MPA sends clear message to Chancellor
Mineral Products Association calls for no more tax on industry and pro-growth measures
UK producers of essential construction materials and industrial minerals have urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to take decisive action in her Budget in November, with no more taxes and a number of pro-growth measures.
In its Autumn Budget 2025 submission, and follow-up letter to the Chancellor, the Mineral Products Association (MPA) explains the bleak economic conditions facing the industry. That includes data showing UK concrete sales hit a 62-year low in 2025, while domestic cement production last year was the lowest since 1950.
Aggregates, asphalt, and other mineral products have also slipped backwards, a bellwether for weakness in the economy as a whole. The MPA’s latest forecast does not foresee a recovery until 2027, and the trade body argues this should spur the Chancellor into action to restore confidence and encourage growth.
The MPA’s Budget submission sets out the cumulative and growing tax burden on one of the UK’s most important foundation industries, citing the Employers’ National Insurance contributions increase, the removal of red diesel for the sector, the return of indexation of the Aggregates Levy, and rising business rates.
These tax increases have happened alongside significant regulatory burdens, including the introduction of Biodiversity Net Gain and Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, as well as poor performance by regulators and planning departments causing delays.
The tax priorities for MPA members are, therefore, geared towards restoring confidence, encouraging investment, and getting growth back on track sooner rather than later. Stopping and rethinking the proposed reforms to Landfill Tax are top of the list, along with halting proposed increases to business rates for sites with a rateable value of more than £500,000.
For energy-intensive cement, the key tax issues are getting the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism right before its launch in 2027, and phasing out the Carbon Price Support and Green Gas Support Scheme, which together raise the cost of decarbonizing while making it harder to achieve.
The MPA has put forward two key ideas for growth:
A super-deduction to encourage investment in new plant and machinery. The previous super-deduction that applied from 2021 to 2023 was a welcome boost to investment for MPA members, and it could have an impact on growth in the immediate term.
Formalizing the pressure on regulators to support growth, not frustrate it. In January 2025, the Chancellor challenged regulators to change the approach to support growth but MPA members have seen no material improvements since then. The association is now calling for regulators to have to report on what they have done to support growth, encouraging the Chancellor to go further and push the regulators harder.
The MPA’s Budget submission concludes with a series of steps to support industry, with five key asks: steps to improve infrastructure delivery; funding for local roads maintenance; sustained support for carbon capture; action on energy costs; and using procurement to support British industry and jobs.
Chris Leese, executive director at the MPA, said: ‘The first rule of growth is not to shrink, but that’s the very real risk our industry is having to deal with right now. Our members are telling us that they are facing really tough times, and our data reflect this too. The Chancellor has said a lot of the right things on regulation and investment, but so far it hasn’t changed the reality on the ground for essential businesses in the real world. To have any chance of delivering on its ambitions, this Government needs to act decisively, at pace, and with significant impact.’
Aurelie Delannoy, economic affairs director at the MPA, added: ‘Hopes of a rebound in mineral products sales in 2025 have collapsed. Worse-than-expected data in the first half of the year, coupled with a sharp deterioration in industry confidence, have led to major downgrades to the outlook since our previous forecast in May. Aggregates and concrete markets face a fourth consecutive year of decline, with ready-mixed concrete sales projected to shrink by 6% in 2025, and any recovery currently forecast to start in 2027.’
